Earlier today, I shared with you the 5 features that I really love in LG’s new flagship G3 device and that give it the upper hand over its competitors and its G2 predecessor. But nothing is perfect, especially in the tech and gadget world, and I, like many others, am left wondering about the options that would have made this G3 even more awesome — maybe those will be the features we’ll see in the G4 next year?
Snapdragon 805
I am not well versed in the difference between processors, but from what I’ve been told by our own specs guru, Rajesh Pandey, the G3’s mix of a Snapdragon 801 and a 2K display is a bit of a recipe for trouble. The 801 is supposed to be compatible with 2K displays, but compatible and comfortably chugging along are quite different. The 805 would handle that 2K screen a lot better than the 801.
Water and dust resistance
There was one rumor way, way back, that the G3 would be water and dust resistant, but that died down and I was always skeptic that the feature wouldn’t make it into the final spec sheet. It turns out that I was right. With both Sony and Samsung now pushing their hardware to be more rugged and less prone to damage from the elements, I had hope that water resistance would be high on LG’s list for their flagship. It would have helped me not have a small stroke every time I was stuck in a storm, or the phone fell into a puddle of water.
Bottom-facing speaker
The G3 comes with a 1W speaker that is supposed to be loud and clear, but the company stuck it on the back of the phone. This position will essentially muffle the speaker if you have the G3 laying on a desk or in a car holder for example, unless you flip the phone around and have the back facing you. A bottom-facing speaker would at least solve the desk issue, although it might have made the G3 slightly taller with a bit more bezel on the bottom.
Better camera sensor
The G3 has an all-singing all-dancing 13MP camera with OIS+ and Laser Autofocus. However, one spec has remained unchanged from the G2, and that is the camera’s aperture. At f/2.4, the aperture is smaller than the Galaxy S5’s f/2.2 or the Xperia Z2’s and HTC One M8’s f/2.0. A smaller aperture means the sensor gets less light in, and that can result in darker, noisier pictures. While the G3 makes up for some of it with its laser focus, a larger aperture would have been another added bonus for clearer photos.
Self-healing material
LG currently has the upper hand over everyone else with its G Flex technology. That device had a self-healing back, where any scratches or small dents would slowly disappear in a few hours as the material healed itself. It’s a bit like black magic, and the fact that LG had that ace up its sleeve but didn’t use it on its new flagship is slightly disappointing. Reports from the company explain that this would have required a glossy finish on the G3, and that was an aspect they were not willing to compromise on — they had listened to everyone’s criticism on the G2 and Galaxy S glossy plastics and didn’t want the G3 to receive them as well.
Is the lack of these features a deal-breaker for you and the G3, or will you buy the device regardless? Are there any other missing features that you wish LG’s new device had?
